Happy Halloween & Introducing...

The FABULOUS HUDSON HORNET (from Cars movie, of course) & TINKERBELL trying on their costumes yesterday...we'll get more today which I'll post later. Joe did an awesome job on Rorys costume and Rory loves it. We'll see how he does with the straps we put on it last night walking around town this afternoon and Trick or Treating tonight...

I made it until today opening up our Halloween candy which we'll put out on the porch. Today is going to be a scary day...poor little baby in the belly is bound for barrel rolling all day with the amount of sugar I'm inevitably going to consume.

A Sad, but Unbelievably Inspirational, Story

Every day for the last couple of months I've been following the story of Christian and Stephanie Nielson. They were in a plane crash in AZ and survived, although they were both badly injured with burns over part of his body and almost all of hers. They were both in medically induced comas from the accident until recently for him and hopefully this weekend for her. They have 4 children and both come from big families who have jumped in, taken over the care of the kids and have worked constantly to do fundraisers and all that to help with bills and recovery. It is the saddest and most inspiring story. Stephanie has a blog that she wrote in about her family and one of her sisters, who is caring for 3 of her 4 children, is using her blog now to tell their story.

Here is an article about what happened and where they are now. Courtneys blog about the recovery and how the family is coping is here. I found this story on some blog I was reading and haven't stopped following it since.

I well up and actually cry almost every day reading this story. It is so touching how their families have come together to bring this couple back and hold the families close. Having small children myself, I can't help but think about the selflessness and love that is present in their lives every day. I can't stop thinking about these 4 children who are living loved, but without their parents right now - they are ages 7 down to 2. I can't stop thinking how horrifying it would be to wake up from an accident like this and have that fear about how your children are and where you are and what is going on be so enormous.

So, although this is a sad and terrifying story, it is inspirational every day. The family is Mormon and they talk about praying and faith and God a lot. Where normally, formal religion unsettles me a bit - just out of lack of experience with it really and a lot of questions about my own beliefs - within the context of this story it is comforting and lovely.

Please tell me this isn't happening, Please tell me this isn't happening...

I thought as Shelagh yelled out "Mommy!, MOMMY!" at 545am this morning. Of course, I stayed up until 12 last night working on photo albums and swapping out pictures in picture frames, watching TV, folding a mountain of laundry, eating ice cream, etc. Joe is away this weekend and I'm determined to get a few projects done.

It was no joke and it was because she was thinking of the shirt she wanted to wear with the skirt she had picked out the night before. Seriously. Now, Rory was up and I lost my shit. Knock on wood, it's been a great 1st week of room sharing for the kids. They have been sleeping until 645-7+ every day. And, Rory does a nice job of reciting the rules every night before bed:

"What are the rules, buddy?"
1) No talking
2) No singing
3) No wakin up Shelagh
"What are you allowed to do in the morning when you wake up and it's still dark, buddy?"
1) Suck my thumb
2) Play with my blanket
3) and lay quietlly in bed

Off to breakfast at the local greasy joint. Definitely having a big regular coffee today...screw the decaf.

Explosion

I don't remember the last time either kid had a blowout. Yesterday broke that streak. And, we were at a party. And, Joe wasn't there. And, I had no other clothes of course. Poor Rory. On the drive to the party he cried out and said "Mommy, stop the van, stop the van". It was a "I'm struggling with this poop" cry so I did my best to soothe and comfort and figured I'd change him in the back of the van when we arrived. I didn't smell anything so I forgot and we went in. About a 1/2 hour to an hour later Rory came over and was standing by me talking to some friends. He said "Mommy, I have something on my finger". I just brushed it off without really looking and kept on talking. One of them said a few minutes later that he had something on his pants. The dread came over me as I looked and realized all at once...it wasn't the Reses Peanut Butter Cups I was letting him shove into his mouth and melt all over the place. Oh crap. No pun intended.

I swept him upstairs with my bag and put him down in the bathroom and just sat there. It was all over the back of his shirt and jeans, had dripped down his leg into his socks. You have got to be kidding me. My friend, whose house it was, provided me a towel and t-shirt for him. Slowly and carefully I managed to get his shirt off without shmearing poop into his hair (this was not easy). I must have used 20 wipes to get him "clean". It was the most disgusting, liquid, smelly diarrhea I've seen in quite some time. When we went downstairs, I knew there was no way it was on the outside of his clothes without leaving its mark somewhere in the house. And, yes, a puddle of brown poop was in their living room...Thank GOD on the floor and not the rug...and no one seemed to have spotted it. Another friend saw my distress and quickly and covertly handed me some very pretty gold napkins which managed to do the job.

Then, my poor little boy had to spend the rest of the party in a t-shirt and diaper and fuzzy crocs. What a terrible look. I did get a picture of him later with his coat and hat on, fuzzy crocs and no pants, but it's on my phone and I have no idea how to get it off my phone and onto the computer. It might be worth figuring out. And Joe thought a weekend with his buddies in Chicago would top that...

Quick Cranberry Bread

On Wednesday, Shelagh and I made a quick Cranberry Bread recipe out of Everyday Food this month. It was super easy and came out pretty good other than the cranberries being a tad bit sour, as cranberries can be. Good warm with butter!

Chicken Breasts w/ Apricot-Onion Pan Sauce - Yum

I'm not usually a fan of chicken breasts. I love cutlets (probably b/c they are usually fried), but otherwise have always preferred thighs and legs. The big problem is I never have good ideas/like recipes for chicken breasts. That said, I need to incorporate some healthier poultry into our diet and so I decided to give this recipe a whirl. In this past months Food & Wine, I made the Chicken Breasts with Apricot-Onion Pan Sauce. It was so good and definitely a do again. It helps that it calls for a skin-on Chicken Breast and has a nice thick and rich sauce. The plain chicken meat just doesn't cut if for me normally. Anyway, I highly recommend it. I cut the recipe in half for me and Joe and cut off some of the chicken for the kids and it was plenty for one meal.

Plus, both kids like to eat the dried apricots for a snack. I, on the other hand, have a real problem with dried apricots after a certain bug incident way back when while dipping them into chocolate. Let's just say I ate them before I realized and have never recovered. The trauma was similar to the bad experience we've all seemed to have with a particular alcohol that we never were able to have again (plug in Tequila, Gin, Whiskey, whatever). Permanent trauma.

Dancing on the Table

I'm against the practice, but it's hard to refuse when Guster comes on or when Daddy is home and wants to watch the kids go nuts and dance. As you can tell, the chandelier or "tacky moist dust magnet circa 1950", as I like to call it, is way low and just begging to be pulled on or pushed.

This is the "muscle dance".

Joe got a minute or so on video...it's hard to do the moves justice with still shots.

New Closet & New Room !!

The closet project in Shelaghs room is finished and came out just as I had envisioned it. Yeah. This is a huge leap b/c 1) I have no design sense WHATSOEVER and 2) there was a slight disagreement in the house over the priority of this project. In short, Rory and Shelagh are going to move into the Shelaghs room. Rorys room has been the revolving baby room and will be so for Baby #3 come 1 month after her birth, or sooner. It is gender-neutral therefore I only had to go through the torture of decorating a baby room once. The torture being the designing and deciding, not the buying.

Poor Rory will be living in a room drenched in yellow and hot pink. I did get him some semi-coordinating sheets with cars all over them which he seemed to like and b/c yellow is his favorite color, he seems not to see the pink, butterflies, or flowers otherwise surrounding him. In order to fit both kids clothes and not have to squish the room with dressers, we opted instead to open up the closet door to better utilize the existing closet space. Then, I spent a lovely afternoon in the Container Store (heaven) working with someone to design a shelving system (Elfa). Joe painted the closet and put up the curtain "door" and installed the top of the shelving and Shelagh and I did the rest during Rorys nap yesterday. She not only helped me put the brackets and shelves up, but she then coordinated the entire clothing move process. She took it upon herself to refold everything in the closet and in the drawers (absolutely my child). Finally, she made space for Rory in her bookshelves and in her "guy" buckets (stuffed animal containers) so he would feel welcome.

And, without further adieu...

After all that, of course they wanted Rory to move right in. I figured if I was going to be forced awake at 5am, better it be a work day so I relented and they actually went right to bed and slept until 715 this morning! Glory! I was up 3 times over the night with them individually but they miraculously did not wake each other at all. It could be the warp speed with which I darted out of bed and into the room upon hearing the beginnings of a peep from either of them. Between 3 awakenings and the late time to bed b/c of the disappointing ALCS game (damn those Red Sox for blowing it!), I am toast today. Chocolate, here I come...Wait. How is that different from any other day?

The Battles I Choose Not to Fight

Last night I used a rubber spatula to move Rorys ketchup from the bottom of the plate to the top of the plate. He seriously freaked out that I didn't squirt it into the normal spot (on top of Lightning McQueen). He should know that the fact that I gave up being upset about him dipping absolutely everything into ketchup was huge for me.

Rory melted down because he wanted to get his shoes from inside his new closet and not from the shoe basket downstairs. He screamed until I came upstairs with his shoes and put them at the top of the stairs. So he could put them in the closet and then take them out of course.

Both kids had to be the ones to lift the orange juice container out of the refrigerator this morning. Rory likes to use his huge muscles and Shelagh just likes to be in charge.

OCD family...

Mellow Weekend

It was nice to not have much going on this weekend as we have lots coming up through Thanksgiving (which I'm hosting and already starting to think about in addition to Xmas/Hanukkah shopping believe it or not). Remembering being in the last trimester of pregnancy with Rory at this time of year, the earlier I do things and the better planned I am, the better. The body can only take so much 3rd time around, especially with work getting busier and 2 other kids to chase after.

I got some time to run errands on my own on Saturday and to see my friend who just had twin girls recently. The babies were so good, but I did feel a wave of overwhelmed for her just thinking about doing what you do for an infant times 2. I do think, in retrospect, that infants are easier than toddlers...at least they don't tantrum or negotiate or need choices or need to do things themselves. It's simplified (from a mom who, knock on wood, has had pretty good luck with sleep with both of my kids). We went to an Oktoberfest party and then spent yesterday doing stuff around the house. I cleaned 1/2 of the house (the hard rooms) and planted tulip bulbs (which is the easiest gardening to do by far, by the way). The kids took out their gardening bag and "helped out". Shelagh got bored pretty quick, but Rory really had fun putting the bulbs in and making sure they were point up and not in a straight line. He especially liked piling them with soil and mulch so that "the snow doesn't make you cold, little bulbs and you boom in the springtime" - thank you, Little Einsteins "It's Springtime" episode which had a blooming yellow tulip being planted for inspiring my little yellow lover.

We ended the weekend with a trip to Annas Taqueria, some ice cream at JP Licks, and Family Movie Night featuring James and the Giant Peach. I should have known it would be a little creepy once I saw Tim Burton in the credits, but they did okay and were pretty excited that James was having adventures on a peach.

Apple Cake

Shelagh and I baked an apple cake today. I'm not a big fruit cake person, but how much applesauce can I possibly make and eat? I have a full bag of apples left from apple picking and needed something to bake. I got the Moms Apple Cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I didn't have a tube pan so instead I used a too-small cake pan. In retrospect, I should have used a glass baking dish instead and cooked it for less time, but I just let it puff up and spill over the side. At 1 1/2 hours the cake was still batter-y in the middle, but we were on our way out to the playground, so I turned off the oven and left it in there. I figured I'd just cut out the middle if it was still not fully cooked since the tube was supposed to be there anyway. The edges taste delicious, so I have high hopes for the full cake. We'll taste it tonight and then send it in to Shelaghs class at school tomorrow. Here's what it looked like...Not as pretty as Smitten Kitchen, but tasty nonetheless!

Now I have to make 1-2 apple crisps to freeze for the winter if I can continue to clear up my freezer, which I cleaned in preparation for my parents visit a couple of weeks ago. I can finally see in there!

Confession...I am now addicted to Trader Joes PBCups

Thank you, LP. Yes, I blame my friend for this. I didn't even used to go to Trader Joes until she convinced me that the PBCups there were the best. I used to argue that the CVS brand Peanut Butter Cup was better than the Reses Peanut Butter Cup. It has a creamier peanut butter filling compared to a flakier/drier filling in the Reses cup. Now, however, I would argue wholeheartedly for the TJ PBC. It is milky and chocolately and smooth and delicious and I can no longer stop at 2-3, which is the official serving size. I have eaten no less than 8-9 for the last 2 days at work. Not scattered throughout the afternoon, but ALL AT ONCE. I am now out of them and planning to leave work a few minutes early so I can pick up Rory and make it to TJ's before having to pick up Shelagh. Poor baby #3 is doing flips in there today...she's going to come out addicted to chocolate, poor little TJ PBC crack baby.

Sex in the City, the movie

Joe was out last night, so after the kids went to bed it was a bowl of Cherry Garcia and the Sex in the City movie for me. I have to say that I loved it. I cried 3 times - it had some devastating parts, a couple of good laugh-out-louds (thank you, Charlotte); but most of all, I felt like I fell right back into their lives. They put the Carrie/Big situation, which was the main storyline, in perfect proportion to the other girls lives and where they were. The fashion was a little too forefront, I thought. In the series, it was always important, but it wasn't "presented" where in the movie, it was name drop after name drop and it was almost it's own character. I loved the storylines for Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda as much as the one for Carrie. All in all, while it was 2 1/2 hours long, I didn't even flinch or nod off (rare, these days) and thoroughly enjoyed being back into it for one night.

Kids Snuggling & Sleepy Rory

Just 2 pictures taken Friday at home on the couch and in the car on the way back from New Hampshire this weekend that I love...


Rory had just woken up from a nap in the car and looked so sleepy and sluggish...I just wanted to eat him up.

Shelagh is such a good big sister. She loves snuggling her brother and taking care of him.

Fall New Hampshire Weekend

We had a really wonderful weekend up in New Hampshire with some friends. We spent Saturday at Storyland and Sunday we went to a cool Corn Farm. Despite the kids not sleeping well Friday night (thank you, Rory, for once again waking up Shelagh pre-6am and setting the tone for a sleep deprived day!), they were excited about Storyland and did well under the circumstances behavior-wise. Both kids went on the little roller coaster, Rory LOVED the ball pit (we had to drag him out screaming) and driving the antique cars (yellow, of course). Shelagh was thrilled to see Cinderella (even though she happened to be going on her break just as we were approaching her castle. I was just happy Cinderella was at least blonde this year!) and was a trooper about only having a minute to see her. Here are a few shots from Storyland.

Sunday AM, after a yummy pancake breakfast, we went to a Corn farm nearby. The kids played in the Corn Box (Sand box filled with corn kernels), fed the goats, did the Corn Maze, rode around in the cow train, and ate fresh Kettle Corn. Some shots here...

Last night, Joe went to the Red Sox game and the kids and I had Family Movie Night watching Nim's Island. I don't think I would have thought it was a good choice for my kids ages, but a friend recommended it and they both liked it. I thought it was really good, actually. Rory is running around quoting it last night and today and Shelagh seems to have stopped asking why the girls mom got swallowed by the whale. Tough start a la Nemo, but she recovered.

TV: Heroes

I'm so happy to see Heroes starting off with a bang. Last season was so sucky after the 1st season being awesome. Some specifics I'm liking...

1. Sylar as evil, but also as lackey to Mrs Petrelli. I like that they had him kill one of their prisoners and only bring back the other 2. Like he'd have control over himself after 1 or 2 pep talks from his new mommy. The writers strike guaranteed his availability to return to Heroes after taking off to film Star Trek. So pumped about that...there are other good villans, but Sylar is the best one, hands down.
2. Holy Mohinder. He is no longer "mohinder-ing" my enjoyment of this series. Oo, la, la, muscle-man.
3. I like the new Speedster girl. She cameo'ed on Friday Night Lights last season and she was pretty good on that. Glad she found somewhere new to show off her talents. Hiro and Ando still annoy me, but she's at least screwing with them a bit which is ok with me.
4. Where is Sarc? Okay, that was an Alias reference. He is now Adam Monroe and I would like to see more of him.
5. I'm intrigued by the Nikki/Tracey character now...was Nikki cloned?
6. Glad to see the Haitian is back, even if he's not directly working with HRG.
7. Claire is annoying.
8. Have Nathan Petrelli's kids been forgotten? I bet one of them has powers at least.
9. Parkman thing is mildly interesting, but that's it. Is Molly in hiding? Obviously Mohinder and Parkman are both not watching her now.

Anyway, I'm thrilled Heroes is back and am enjoying it so far...